


A Bouquet

by RealityJones



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Disability, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Loss, Mostly Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:34:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityJones/pseuds/RealityJones
Summary: Every flower has a meaning. Roses of love, daffodils of new beginnings. A bouquet can tell someone how you feel, or you can tell a story with one.An epilogue for Season 4. I'm late to the fandom, but I absolutely loved the final season and I want to see my baby more, so I decided to write an extended ending that will eventually devolve into a fluffy pillow. But, until then, I wanted to explore the issues Texas 2 would face after the Delta's attack. Enjoy!
Relationships: AJ | Alvin Jr./Clementine (Walking Dead), Aasim/Ruby (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Episode 0: Prologue

Episode 0: “It’s the end of the world as we know it”

Violet’s feet slammed against the forest ground. She ignored Ruby’s pleads to slow down. Violet couldn’t slow down. She remembered the axe coming down to cut through Clementine’s leg, followed by the screams of her pain. Violet should’ve stayed behind, should’ve tried to get her over first. Instead, Clementine was the one that had to help Tenn. AJ helped give her enough time to cross the gap in the bridge, but a walker bit on her boot. That was the predominant concern.  _ She has to be okay, she  _ has  _ to be _ , the blonde repeated the matra to herself as she continued to dodge several grasping walkers and blocking tree limbs. Once she got to a small clearing she took a few breaths. The sun had begun to rise. Violet’s heart only began to pound against her ribcage harder. “Clem!?” She called out. Unbeknownst to her, Ruby had caught up and was attempting to hush her to no avail as Violet continued to call out to the young woman. 

Both women froze as they heard gunshots. Before Ruby could stop her, Violet felt her exhaustion fall back again as she began to bob and weave through the walkers and trees again. It didn’t take long to find the structure: the old stables for when Ericson had horses. The building was swarmed with walkers, and the building looked as if it was going to collapse due to the pressure being exerted upon it. The gunfire had stopped once the blonde had exited the forest, and there was no doubt that the shots were coming from within the barn. Before Violet was able to call out, Ruby grabbed her and placed her hand over the blonde’s mouth, “Listen, Vi, I know you wanna be a white knight and all that shit, but you ain’t gonna be much use dead.”

Violet tore the redhead’s hand away before whisper yelling, “Well what the fuck should we do then, sit with our thumbs up our asses?” 

Ruby placed her hand on her shoulder and shook her head incredulously, “Hell no! I’m just askin’ you to think so we don’t lose you too, alright?” The blonde simply responded with a dissatisfied grunt. “Now I want you to ask, ‘What Would Clementine Do?’” Violet stiffened, but the question proved to be effective.  _ Clem would go full damage-control, hell, she  _ has _ been on damage-control since the boat got fucked. _ She began to scan her surroundings. She had her trusty cleaver, it’d take out quite a few but probably not all of them easily. She also had a rock about the size of a tennis ball.  _ What would Clem do? _ Violet thought for a moment. She sure as hell wouldn’t charge through a crowd of walkers, that’s for sure. She’d do her best damage control, like she always would, and ensure the safety of everyone else before anything. So, that’s how Violet decided to pick up the rock and quickly run over to the opposite side of the barn and ruby before yelling and slamming the rock against the old truck there. It took a minute, but a few did follow which grew and grew until the blonde had to move. 

She saw Ruby go around the side of the barn and hoped that she’d be okay. But you know what they say, ‘no rest for the living,’ so Violet kept yelling and drawing walkers away from the area she hoped Clementine was alive and unharmed in, though her cynical side said she was probably in terrible shape, or else her and AJ would’ve come back already.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours of running and yelling and Violet’s voice was practically gone. Her body was exhausted of almost all energy and the adrenaline had run out. She was feeling the full effects of the recent events on her body as she snuck away from the crowd of walkers she had garnered. It would take a few more hours before she would reach the shack by the river, but she decided she needed to rest. Didn’t she want to get back to AJ and Clem? It was a complicated answer that relied on the answer to a different question’s answer: was Clem okay? Honestly, Violet was terrified of the answer. Any number of things could’ve gone terribly wrong, including getting bit. The image of the walker biting down on her boot intruded her thoughts, causing her heart to sink.  _ She wasn’t bit, was she? _ Violet asked herself as she entered the shack and collapsed on the bed. The events of the bridge came to the forefront of her mind at that moment, retracing how it could’ve played out differently.

_ Minnie _ . Violet’s eyes drifted towards the heart carved into the wall with ‘V + M’ in the middle. Minnie was so kind, a genuine kind soul,  _ What did they do to you? _ Her memories of the Minnie she knew were gone, replaced by the nightmarish Minnie from Delta. The one memory that kept repeating in her mind was when she brought the axe down and struck Clem’s leg. With an enraged grunt, Violet pulled out her cleaver and slammed it into the middle of the heart. After a few seconds of heavy breaths, she felt her body sink into the old mattress, falling asleep as her head met the cushion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenn was one of the first to volunteer to search for Violet. After she hadn’t returned for a few hours, everyone had begun to get nervous. AJ also volunteered, but Ruby vetoed it, reasoning that she needed his help with Clementine. So, that’s how it became Louis and Tenn that searched for the brooding blonde. 

“So,” Louis began slowly, drawing out the ‘o’, unsure how to start. “How did it happen?” 

“What?” Tenn asked, nervous of where this was going.

“How did she get hurt? I know that it really wasn’t your fault Clem got hurt, I’m just wondering what happened, you know? Everyone will be.” Tenn looked up and studied the young man’s face. It bore a kind smile, a smile that said, ‘I understand.’ “Basically, I want to know what happened so that I can help you out when you have to explain later, ‘kay?”

“...okay…” Tenn responded after a few minutes. He slowly explained what happened on the bridge. Minnie singing and bringing a herd, Clementine and Violet helping him and AJ across the gap, Clementine getting her leg cut, Minnie’s death, and how Violet and him got separated from Clementine and AJ. He omitted the detail where he was too nervous to cross the bridge and abandon Minnie that Clementine had to practically throw him to the other side, most likely causing her not to notice or dodge the crawling walker. 

“Well, everyone’s alive at least, right?” Louis nudged the boy’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. 

“Not everyone…” Tenn walked forward, distancing himself from Louis. Louis released a sad sigh. Last night - or this morning, Louis wasn’t entirely sure at the moment- was hard on everyone. Hell, the last two days were enough to crumble them down. Without Clementine, Louis was sure that they would have crumbled and submitted to the Delta. He shuddered at the thought. He tried to shift his mind onto a happier track, but failed, instead he began thinking about what was lost. The other kids that had died, the abandonment of the adults, the death of Marlon, the death of Sophie, and eventually, Minnie’s death. Could she have been saved? Could her and Violet have been happy again? He wasn’t sure. 

Tenn pulled him out of his thoughts, “I’m going to check along the river, Louis, I think if we split up we’ll cover more ground.” 

Louis thought about it for a minute, “Alright, but meet back here in ten minutes, got it?” Tenn nodded and began to slowly walk alongside the river. Louis stood for a moment, trying to decide where to search before his mind was drawn back to the question,  _ Could Minnie have been saved? _ He didn’t have time to find an answer as he jumped back from the shack, preparing Chairles for a swing, upon hearing shuffling from inside. He slowly opened the door and found his friend on the mattress. His eyes slowly drifted to the cleaver stuck in the wall, splitting the carved heart that bore the former couple’s initials. He ran outside and called Tenn back. He at least had an answer for one of his questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Violet awoke, she found herself in her own bed. She was cold, understandably so as her clothes had been removed and she was left in her undergarments. She examined herself, finding new bandages on small cuts, bruises, and fresh wrapping for her hand. The cloth around her eye felt new, as well. With a grunt, she stood, feeling all the effects of the raid on the boat then. Her head was splitting, her eye was burning along with the flesh around the area, the stump on her left hand where her pinkie used to be was stinging, her feet burned, and her entire body screamed in exhaustion. Groggily, and with much care, she dressed herself in her usual attire before leaving the room. 

AJ had long since abandoned his post on the dresser in his and Clementine’s room to patrol the halls. He was about to return to the room and try to go to sleep (Clem would want him to, after all), he heard the door to the courtyard open and close. He spun around to find Violet. Her exhaustion was highlighted by the moon’s light that krept through the cracked glass. Lines in her face were seemingly deepened, her eyes held heavy bags, and her posture was more hunched. That didn’t stop the smile that krept up onto her face, however as she greeted him in a hoarse voice, “Hey there little dude, how’s it going?” Violet began coughing and continued with a whisper, “Sorry, kinda fucked my voice out there getting those walkers to follow me.” AJ ran up and gave her a long, tight hug. He would usually try to wipe tears away so that nobody noticed them, but right now he didn’t care. Neither did Violet. “Hey, AJ, is Clem in your guys’s room? I wanna see how she’s doing.” The tears that fell next weren’t because of happiness upon seeing a friend, but instead were now because of a deep pain in his heart, one he had felt before, just not as strongly. He pulled away from the hug, and responded simply, “I’m guilty.” 

  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. Episode 1: Protea, King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Protea, King stands for change and transformation.

Episode 1: Protea, King

Violet sat in the chair that was pulled up next to Clementine’s bed silently. Not like she could say anything without her throat burning and then be thrown into a coughing fit. She didn’t regret her actions, however. Violet couldn’t say that it was even remotely not worth the pain and trouble. 

She studied the young woman in front of her. She had been changed by Ruby and cleaned, and was currently wearing an older outfit that once belonged to Sophie when she first got here.  _ Sorry for always joking about how short you were, Sophie. _ Clementine was bandaged in several areas, one being above the breasts where Minnie had attempted to kill her, another was around her skull where they had found she had hit her head badly at one point, on her right hand that had been badly cut, and of course on her left leg. Whenever Violet would look over, she would surprise herself every time upon finding the absence of a limb. 

There was a small knock at the door and a female voice with a southern accent, “Hey, can I come in?” Violet nodded and tried to say ‘sure’, but she was interrupted by a damned coughing fit, which the owner of the voice on the other side of the door took as an invitation, “Damn Vi, you really screwed with your throat, huh?” Violet looked away and nodded, “Well, don’t worry about it, you’ll get better in no time!” Ruby responded cheerfully. Violet scooted the chair away from the bed so that Texas 2’s resident nurse could work her magic. 

“How is she?” Violet forced out before launching into another coughing fit. 

“First off,” Ruby turned and pointed her finger up, “try not to talk. If ya got to, try to whisper,” Ruby turned around and began unwrapping the bloody bandages that covered Clem’s remaining leg. Violet turned her body away, she wasn’t really wanting to see where her girlfriend had to get her leg amputated, or throw up at the sight of something similar to Violet’s own hand. From behind her, Ruby gave her professional opinion, “Well, I don’t rightly know. She hasn’t woken up that I know of since it came off, and that was a day ago.” Ruby had re-wrapped the stump while she spoke and stood, tapping Violet on the shoulder to let her know that she could turn back around, “I’m worried if she don’t wake up soon we’ll have bigger problems on our hands in dealing with her recovery.” 

“What do you mean?” Violet carefully whispered before swallowing nervously.

“Well, she’s gotta get some nutrients and water in her or else her body won’t be able to recover.” Ruby shrugged, “I just don’t know how to help anymore in this situation, Vi, I’m sorry.” 

Violet visibly deflated, “It’s, uh, it’s okay,” Violet met Ruby’s gaze and forced a smile, “like you said, you did the best you c-” She tried to hold it in, but found her limit as she broke into another coughing fit. 

Ruby shifted her weight uncomfortably as Violet recovered. When the blonde did recover, Ruby spoke again, “Hey Vi,” the girl in question looked up, “I wanted to say thanks for listenin’ to me yesterday.” Violet shook her head dismissively and was about to say something before being interrupted, “Save your voice, everyone wants to know what we should be doin’ now that Delta’s pissed off.” Ruby left the room after that. 

Violet sat and soaked in the silence that followed. Well, it wasn’t complete silence, Clem’s slow, steady breaths could be heard but not much else. Violet wouldn’t leave for another few hours, and in the meantime she’d formulate a plan. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Louis looked around for Violet, but failed to find her. He asked around and eventually found out she was in Clem’s room from Ruby. In any other circumstance, he’d probably crack a joke about the two of them getting down and dirty, but Louis knew when the time for jokes was. So, instead he asked Ruby how they were doing.

“Well,” Ruby scratched the back of her neck, “Clem’s stable, but if she don’t wake up and get something in ‘er I worry how long she’ll remain stable.” She turned towards the dormitories, “Violet’s in pain, I mean, she didn’t say anything about it, but we all know she has to be,” she returned her attention to Louis, “and she’s lost her voice at the moment. It’ll be a few days before she can talk normally again.” 

Louis nodded and thought for a moment, “Does she seem like she’s up for visitors?” 

“I couldn’t tell ‘ya.” Ruby waved farewell and made her way towards the greenhouse. It’d be a necessity when winter hit for there to be a way to grow crops, and Louis considered accompanying her when he saw Aasim follow.  _ Finally taking some of my advice, huh? _ Louis chuckled. He thought about going and speaking to Violet about the group’s next options, but ultimately decided against it. She’d been through enough at the moment and deserved some rest.  _ If you’d even call what she’s doing ‘rest’. _ Louis walked around, checking on everyone. Omar had a limp, which probably wasn’t going away anytime soon, but he said it didn’t affect his cooking at least. Willy was doing okay for the most part, he was currently trying to figure out how a tinker toy worked,  _ Probably to make some sort of a bomb, _ and he seemed to be making progress.  _ Mitch would be proud of that _ , Louis thought. Tenn was quiet, standing over in the graveyard. Louis let him be. Aasim and Ruby spent awhile in the greenhouse (something that  _ would _ be teased by Louis later in happier times), but they came back for lunch. Rosie seemed sad, or worried, or both. Louis frowned. 

“Hey, Rosie, wanna see Clem?” Louis knelt down, petting the good girl. She began wagging her tail, which gave Louis a smile. “Alright, come on, you’re our emotional support animal now.” The two stood and made their way towards the dorms. Louis could tell everyone was looking at him as he entered the building. They’d all swarm him with questions, as they did with Ruby, but for now he tried to ignore the feeling of responsibility. 

AJ was still patrolling the halls, revolver in hand. Louis knew he shouldn’t feel nervous about the kid having a gun, after all AJ was both careful and good with the damn thing, but whenever he saw the gun in the kid’s hands he remembered Marlon’s face with a hole at the center of the forehead.  _ Can’t forgive  _ and  _ forget, I guess. _ “Hey little man, see anything ‘sus?”

“No,” AJ responded curtly. Louis could see the bags under his eyes, along with the puffiness of his eyes.

“Hey, AJ,” upon being called, the boy looked up, “Do you… uh, want to play the piano with me later? I’ve got a piece I’ve been working on and could use some help!” He finished with his trademark smile.

“I have to patrol, Louis, sorry.” AJ went back to walking up and down the halls. 

“All work and no play makes AJ a dull boy!” Louis joked as he continued towards the boy’s room. 

Louis knocked softly at the door, “Hey, you love birds got some visitors~” Louis opened the door, a little surprised by what he found. Clem was still asleep, but Violet was holding her hand. There was silence. Louis felt like he was intruding on something deeply private, “Uh, do you want me to come back later...or…”

Violet mouthed a ‘no’ and let go of Clem’s hand, though reluctantly, and stood. “How’s everything?”

“Oh you know,” Louis waved his hand around the room, “zombie apocalypse and all that.” He looked back towards the laughless Violet, “Oh come on! That was funny!” Louis complained exasperatedly. “Anyways, if you’re wondering how  _ I’m  _ doing, not well. My comedy seems to have no effect in cheering y’all up!”

“Boo-hoo,” Violet whispered mocked with a smile.

“And as far as everyone else goes, shaken up but recovering slowly. Omar’s having some trouble with his knee, but neither of us are currently worried about it.” Louis explained Willy, Ruby, and Aasim’s conditions as well before he got to the more worrying cases. “I’m worried about Tenn. He’s just been staying at the graveyard, not moving,” Violet’s face took on a troubled expression, “and AJ looks like he’s only been walking up and down the halls,” Louis threw a thumb over his shoulder, “I didn’t see him even eat today, Vi, or you-” 

“I’m fi-” Violet interjected before getting cut off by another coughing fit. It was  _ really  _ starting to annoy her.

While she was coughing, Louis continued, “Nah, I don’t think you are. I remember the last time you were like this, and so does everyone else.” Violet looked away, and with no response Louis resumed, “Listen, I think you’re doing better than last time, but you  _ have _ to eat, amongst other things.” Violet glanced over at Clem and was about to speak when Louis spoke for her, “I know you want to be there for her when she wakes up, but Marlon’s not the leader anymore,” Violet swung around to meet Louis with a look of disgust and insult, “ _ you _ are our leader now.” Violet’s gaze softened after a moment, and nodded. Louis opened his arms out, “Come here, we all need one of these once in a while, right?” Violet folded her arms and looked down at her feet. Louis’s arms got tired so he put them down, “Alright, no hugs right now, got it.” He felt Rosie nudge his side, “Oh yeah! I brought Rosie, thought she could take your place for awhile!”

Violet snapped her head up, “No!” she cleared her throat painfully, bringing her voice back into a whisper, “I mean, I appreciate it but Clem’s afraid of dogs, remember?” 

“Well, shit,” Louis said, “I guess I forgot when I saw her petting her a few days ago.” 

Rosie whined and sat down, looking between the two humans with a begging gaze. Violet hoped she wouldn’t regret this, “Fine, she can stay.”

“Aannnnnnnndd?”

“I’ll come and eat,” Violet sighed in defeat. She knew she wouldn’t be getting back until very late tonight if anyone could help it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Violet ate quickly before walking around the courtyard to assess damage. Her legs were killing her, but she knew it could be worse and pushed on. The gate was in rough shape, the only things keeping it fastened to the wall were a couple of screws.  _ Not good, _ Violet surmised they’d need to build a new one. Other than that, the main courtyard looked fine, surprisingly, just needed some tidying and it’d look as good as it did before the raid. Next she made her way towards the admin building. Violet couldn’t help but scowl at the bloodstain left by Marlon’s corpse. 

The admin building was less fortunate, sadly. The damage caused by the raiders’ fire could be seen all over the staircase and on the second floor.  _ Need to try to clear that crap out, _ Violet decided. Burnt wood was a liability, both to personal health and the building’s infrastructure. Luckily, the main office was also unharmed. She hated going in there, primarily because it smelled of a  _ fucking traitor _ , but it’d be a waste of time to find a place to store all the important documents within and transport those documents there. Violet exitted, making her way to a more personal location.

The belltower, of course, remained untouched. Well, untouched by the Delta, anyways. It was still fucked.  _ Clem’ll never be able to climb this… _ She climbed up to the top, reminded painfully clearly of the night of Delta’s arrival. She hated that the memory would never stop being one of the single most painful nights of her life, especially since it was so beautiful just fifteen minutes prior to the shit show that followed. Violet made it to the top and sat down in the same spot she had when she and Clem had kissed and made things official. The kiss, at least, remained untainted by the nightmares that followed. Violet could still remember the feeling of Clementine’s soft, chapped lips against her own. She also remembered the stupidest thing she’d ever said, but honestly, she wasn’t too bothered by her disaster gay moment. She  _ was _ bothered by the fact that they wouldn’t have another night like that one, for better and for worse. After a few minutes of daydreaming, she finally stood and made her way to begin her duties as leader.

When her feet hit the ground with a grunt, Violet sighed, “Need a damn ladder,” and smiled when she realized it could help solve a couple other problems of hers. 

She stood at the desk in the office, reading over the list in front of her, “What’s this, a grocery list?” Violet whispered with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh,” Aasim hummed, “well, yeah, technically.” Violet narrowed her eyes. “Well, it’s more things everyone thought we might need, I took a survey.”

Violet looked over the list again.  _ Seeds for planting, something to cover broken windows, heat production without smoke, gardening too- _ “Aasim, this is a gardening list,” Violet deadpanned. Aasim opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to think of a good response when Violet responded, “Next time in your survey, try to make sure it isn’t biased.” Aasim turned to leave, “Hey, Aasim,” he turned before he left the office, “this is important stuff though, it gives me a good idea of what we need to figure out, so uh… thanks.” 

“No problem, Vi,” with that, Aasim left the room in a slightly brighter mood. Violet sighed and sank into the headmaster’s chair. She had to give it to the fat bastard, he knew what ‘stylish comfort’ meant, the chair practically hugged her. It didn’t last long, of course, as Willy stormed in yelling at Aasim.

“Well, let’s see what Violet has to say!” Willy said as he stormed through the doors and marched up to the desk with an exasperated Aasim in tow. Once he got up to the desk he practically yelled, “Violet, we should booby trap the woods!” 

“Don’t we already have traps set up?” Violet asked.

“Yes,” Aasim stepped forward, “but  _ he _ ” Aasim jabbed his thumb over towards Willy, “wants to set up traps against  _ humans _ .” 

Willy slammed his hands onto the desk, “It’ll help keep us safe!”

“Landmines will be dangerous to us, too, not to mention blow apart any animal that we want to hunt,  _ and  _ draw walkers to us!” Aasim argued.

The two boys went back and forth: Aasim arguing that planting bombs into the woods they hunt in was a terrible idea, while Willy argued that nobody would try to raid the area. Violet could only think,  _ Clem, I wish you were here right now… _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ “Come on, wake up, sweet pea.”  _

__ _ Clementine knew this feeling. She knew the wind blowing through her hair, the sound of a monstrous machine chugging along the track through the woods. She was laying on her back, staring up at the top of the cart. She sat up and looked around. It was the same as always, including Lee. _

__ _ “‘Bout time,” Lee laughed the laugh that was contagious, bringing a soft smile to Clem’s face.  _

__ _ Clem turned to look outside the cart. It was brighter, more colourful somehow. She turned towards Lee again, wanting to ask the most sensible question in the world, but afraid of the answer. His face grew a bittersweet smile, “Not yet,” he rubbed her shoulder, “you aren’t dead yet.”  _

__ _ Clementine felt a weight lifted from her body. She sighed in relief before she felt another concern worm its way into her mind, “Where’s AJ?”  _

__ _ “AJ?” Lee looked like he was in though for a moment before answering, “I’m pretty sure he’s patrolling while you sleep.”  _

__ _ “A-and Violet?” Clem asked. _

__ _ “Waiting for you, kiddo.” Lee smiled warmly, before pulling her into a hug. It felt real, more real than any other dream with Lee in it, and she melted into it. She missed him, more than chicken nuggets or her parents. Clem could feel the tears stinging her eyes and falling down her cheeks, and she felt Lee’s calloused thumb wipe the tears away, “Don’t cry, sweet pea, there’s nothing to cry about.”  _

__ _ “You...” Clem sobbed, “you...aren’t...there…”  _

__ _ “No,” Lee hugged her tighter, “no I’m not.” He released her from the hug and sat down, leaving Clementine feeling cold. “Remember when you were taken by that guy, the one down in Savannah?” _

__ _ Clementine felt a surge of guilt at the memory, responding quietly, “Yes.”  _

__ _ “Well, you needed me at that moment, to help you and protect you.” Lee sighed heavily, “Parenting, I found out, is a job,” Clem looked up at him, listening intently, “you have to be willing to go through anything to keep taking care of your kid, which we’ve both done.” Lee pointed with his right hand towards the stump on his left arm and then pointed towards Clementine’s missing left leg.  _

__ _ “S-should I be freaking out?” Clem asked nervously. _

__ _ “Probably,” Lee shrugged, “but you seem to be doing better than I was when I lost my arm.”  _

__ _ “How was it?”  _

__ _ Lee stared off outside the cart. “It hurt,” he stated simply.  _

__ _ “Oh,” Clementine responded while lowering her head, studying the change, not feeling answered. _

__ _ She felt her hair ruffled by Lee, “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.” Lee stood and held his hand out, “You always have, sweet pea.”  _

__ _ Clementine hesitated in accepting his hand, “Will I see you again?”  _

__ _ “Of course, Clem,” he stated sweetly, “I’ll always be there for you,” he nodded towards the opening of the cart, “but right now you’ve got people that need  _ you _ , much more than I need you.” Clementine took his hand, allowing herself to be pulled upwards into another hug, “I love you, sweet pea.”  _

__ _ “ _ I love you too, Lee, _ ” Clementine replied, new tears freely falling down her cheeks. _

__ _ “Now, wake up.” _

  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm realizing in the first chapter that I didn't note what choices were made. Basically, this was based on my first playthrough, but with minor changes. Like Violet is saved instead of Louis, but Violet still tries to save Minnerva and gets hurt, losing sight in one eye and Louis doesn't lose his tongue. I didn't have AJ shoot Lily, mainly because I thought I could get Clem to do it and I regret it everyday. AJ was trusted to make the hard decisions, I actually kept Clem from interacting with Rosie much due to her phobia, and I think you can tell how stargazing went ;)  
> Anyways, that's about all the important choices I can think of at the moment. If you enjoyed, leave a comment and kudos as it fills me with happy fuzzy feelings. I'll see you next time!!!
> 
> P.S. I'm bad at regular updates, but I try my best. Also, to make up for inconsistent updates, I usually have longer chapters. Anyways, later!


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